You were tasked with guarding the Sihang Warehouse, and you brought out a Tiger tank?

Deep inside the artillery shelter.

Zhang Wenzhong, commander of the Provisional 50th Division, listened to the continuous, apocalyptic explosions outside, his face grim.

His fingers unconsciously fiddled with the hem of his military uniform.

Although they knew the Japanese had heavy artillery, and although Commander Lin Feng had given them instructions beforehand, and although they had made as many preparations as possible.

But when this steel inferno truly descends upon you, the sense of powerlessness and oppression is almost suffocating.

"No wonder...no wonder."

Zhang Wenzhong muttered to himself, his voice barely audible in the intervals between explosions.

He recalled the countless battles he had heard about and witnessed over the years.

Why were the Japanese able to use a small number of troops to chase and fight against the National Revolutionary Army, which outnumbered them by several times or even ten times?

Why would a ridiculous scene appear where a thousand Japanese soldiers chase after ten thousand Nationalist soldiers?

Are all the soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty cowards?

of course not.

On the battlefield of Shanghai, how many soldiers rushed forward one after another, using their flesh and blood to fill the enemy's fire net?

Are they afraid of death?

Of course afraid.

But they feared even more the destruction of their country and the loss of their homes.

But courage and a spirit of sacrifice alone are not enough.

The gap in weaponry is too large.

In the Northwest Army, where he originally served, or in local forces such as the Northeast Army, Sichuan Army, and Hunan Army, a division often only had four or five thousand to ten thousand people.

Moreover, in a division, usually only one or two "main force regiments" can be equipped with decent automatic weapons such as light and heavy machine guns.

The remaining soldiers would be lucky if each of them had a Hanyang rifle or an old-fashioned rifle.

Many guns have worn down their rifling, causing bullets to fly crookedly and become inaccurate beyond 150 meters.

What's worse, most of these troops have little experience in modern warfare.

Previously, the battles were all fought among warlords. What kind of fighting style was that?

Both sides spread out their positions, machine guns fired and infantry charged. When the fighting was almost over, they gave each other face, the losing side retreated, and the winning side did not pursue them further.

How could there be anything like the Japanese, who would bomb you with planes and artillery at the drop of a hat, leaving you in disarray, and then have the infantry come up with bayonets and fight to the death?

Therefore, many units, when conducting defensive battles, tend to place their only, best-equipped main force regiment at the front line, hoping that it can hold the line.

The results of it?

The Japanese launched a heavy artillery barrage.

The main regiment suffered heavy casualties from the bombing, and its organization was disrupted.

When the troops that came up behind them were even worse equipped and less trained, they naturally collapsed at the first contact with the heavily armed and highly motivated Japanese soldiers.

Then came the utter defeat.

It wasn't that the soldiers didn't want to fight, it was that they simply couldn't.

This battle was incredibly frustrating.

"Fortunately...fortunately, we have Commander Lin."

Zhang Wenzhong took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He recalled the words Lin Feng had given him before the battle, specifically calling him to the map and giving him these instructions:

"Commander Zhang, we can't just take on the Japanese heavy artillery head-on."

Your main force shouldn't all be piled up on the front line.

The layout should be tiered, with lighter weights at the front and heavier weights at the back.

Only a small number of observation posts and guard troops were stationed on the first line, while the main forces were placed in the artillery shelters and bunkers on the second and third lines.

The trenches should be dug deep, in a zigzag shape, and with plenty of anti-artillery holes.

No matter how powerful the Japanese artillery was, it couldn't possibly plow the entire field.

As long as people survive, we can retake the position and fight again once the shelling stops.

At the time, Zhang Wenzhong was still somewhat skeptical.

If we put our main force in the back, wouldn't the Japanese make it easy for them to break through the front line?

But now, listening to the hellish cannon fire outside, he understood.

If he had really put all his main forces on the front line, by now, his troops would probably have suffered more than half casualties and their morale would have collapsed.

Now, although the scene looks frightening, with smoke filling the air and shell craters everywhere, the battlefield is still littered with bullet holes.

But apart from a few unlucky fortifications that were directly hit and the personnel who were exposed, most soldiers were safely sheltered in the artillery bunkers.

Most of the Japanese artillery shells were wasted on the empty surface positions.

The casualties were far fewer than expected.

"Commander Lin... is truly a divine being."

Zhang Wenzhong felt a deep respect and gratitude for the excessively young army commander who seemed to see through everything.

On the other side, Kunisaki Noboru stood on the high ground in front of the command post, holding up binoculars and carefully observing the effects of the artillery fire.

In the distance, on the Chinese army's position, huge fireballs were constantly rising, billowing black smoke and flying dust.

The entire defensive line was shrouded in smoke, looking as if it had been thoroughly plowed through.

"Yosh, that works well."

Kunisaki Noboru put down his binoculars, a satisfied look on his face.

In his eyes, an ordinary Chinese army should have been blown to pieces by heavy artillery bombardment of this scale long ago.

Those foolish Chinese generals, with their rigid tactics, only knew how to put their most elite troops on the front lines to fight.

The result was that a barrage of artillery fire wiped out the elite troops, and the remaining rabble naturally collapsed at the first touch.

He's fought far too many battles like this.

"Order the heavy artillery to cease fire after ten salvos."

Kunisaki Noboru said to his chief of staff:

"Then, he ordered the 41st and 42nd Infantry Regiments to prepare for the attack."

As soon as the shelling stopped, they immediately launched an attack.

"Hai."

The chief of staff immediately jotted down the order, but hesitated for a moment before finally asking:

"Sir, is ten rounds too few?"

In the past, dealing with such a formidable defensive line required at least half an hour of fire preparation.

"no way."

Kunisaki Noboru's face darkened:

"This time we are on an expeditionary operation, far from our rear supply lines."

They didn't have many shells to begin with, and that damned Tanaka completely abandoned the logistics battalion.

Now we have to use every shell sparingly.

He paused, his tone regaining its confidence:

"However, ten rounds are enough."

The Chinese fortifications couldn't withstand the bombardment of 150mm heavy artillery.

"Once the cannon fire stops, my warriors will charge forward, and then it will be a bloody battle."

According to the frugal Kunisaki Noboru, heavy artillery shells should be conserved and saved for the later Battle of Nanjing.

As for the consequences, it will simply mean sacrificing a few more cannon fodder soldiers during the attack.

"Hai, Your Excellency is wise."

The chief of staff said no more and turned to relay the order.

-----

The shelling lasted for about ten minutes.

For the soldiers on the ground, those ten minutes felt like an eternity.

Every second was accompanied by deafening explosions and earth-shaking tremors.

Every second, a falling shell could take their life.

at last.

The explosions gradually subsided and then stopped completely.

Only the lingering sound of the shells cutting through the air remained, still buzzing in my ears.

On the battlefield, there was a deathly silence.

The only sounds were the crackling of burning wood and the occasional suppressed groans of wounded soldiers.

Inside the artillery shelter, the soldiers slowly removed their hands from their ears and glanced at each other.

Many people still looked shaken, their ears ringing, unable to hear what others were saying.

But they are still alive.

Most people are still alive.

"Quickly, assess the casualties and reinforce the fortifications!"

The shouts of officers of all ranks echoed in the trenches, though their voices were hoarse from the impact of the explosions.

The soldiers snapped out of their daze and hurriedly grabbed the shovels and sandbags around them to begin repairing the destroyed trenches and fortifications.

Medics carried stretchers, moving through the thick smoke of battle, searching for the wounded.